1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to software configuration management or versioning systems and more specifically to efficiently merging software changes between multiple versions of software maintained in the versioning system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Configuration management plays an important role in the development of most software products. In particular, configuration management tools, such as ClearCase, AccuRev, Bazaar, etc. provide versioning tools that regulate and manage how software is developed by tracking the updates and modifications that are made to the software components managed by the tools.
For example, in a typical software development project, for a particular product or software release, many different software components or elements may need to be generated. Because multiple developers and potentially development teams may be involved in the creation or implementation of the various software elements, the software developers are typically allowed to access and modify many of the same software components in parallel to each other. To provide for common access, the software components are commonly maintained in a data repository that is accessible by the different software developers.
Files being modified are typically checked-out of the versioning system and checked back in as new versions upon completion. Unfortunately, due to the parallel nature of the overall development, beneficial or desirable changes made in one version or branch of the development may not be integrated or merged into other branches. Many versioning systems include merge features for merging changes between various branches or components. However, these features typically require significant user intervention and express identification of merge locations.